For years, the makers of thermal binding
equipment have been spreading rumors that Unibind covers won't work in
a thermal binding machine. In fact, I was once told that thermal
binding machines just don't get hot enough to melt the adhesive in the
Unibind machines. This is simply not true.I have tried running some Unibind spines and
covers in my thermal machine and these are a few of the things that I
have discovered.
For years, the makers of thermal binding
equipment have been spreading rumors that Unibind covers won't work in
a thermal binding machine. In fact, I was once told that thermal
binding machines just don't get hot enough to melt the adhesive in the
Unibind machines. This is simply not true. In fact, if there is any
problem binding Unibind covers in a thermabind machine it is that the
temperature gets too hot. I have tried running some Unibind spines and
covers in my thermal machine and these are a few of the things that I
have discovered.
As I mentioned above, there have long been rumors
that Thermabind machines don't get hot enough to melt the glue for
binding with Unibind supplies. However, in my tests, I found that this
was not true. In fact, I tested a number of different thermal machines
and none of them had a problem melting the glue. However, there were a
few problems that I did note that you should watch out for.
Although
none of the thermal binding machines that I tested had problems melting
the glue, some did put out too much heat. Steel spines that were
covered with a leatherette type finish were sometimes affected by this
excess heat. This caused the finish to be melted or discolored on the
steel spine. One model of machine that I tested had a variable
temperature setting and worked better on the lower temperature
settings. However not all thermal systems have this type of adjustment.
When the machines had this problem the only two solutions that I found
were to take the book out of the unit before the full binding time had
expired or to use a piece of paper between the heat plate and the spine
to protect the finish.
Some of the thermal binding
machines that I tested had flexible pieces of plastic to help keep the
documents tight inside the machine during binding. These work well with
the Unibind spines. However, I had to be careful when removing the
covers from the machine so that the spine did not get caught on plastic
pieces. This was primarily a problem with steel back spines and not
with steelbooks or steel crystal covers.
It is important
to keep in mind that you are limited to the capacity of your machine
when binding Unibind covers in your thermal machine. Many of the
machines on the market will only accept a document that is one inch
thick. This converts to a Unibind cover that is the maximum of 23mm or
25mm.
If you already have a thermal binding machine,
this should open a whole bunch of new doors for you. Steelbook covers
provide an option for binding hard covers and photo books without the
need for a hard cover crimper. Plus, Steelback spines allow you to use
your own custom printed covers with your thermal binding machine.
Jeff McRitchie is the designer and Director of Marketing for MyBinding.com. He has written over 100 articles on binding machines,binding supplies,binders,laminators,binding covers,laminating supplies,paper handling equipments,index tabs, and shredders.
